Chapter 82: Gathering from All Sides

Wuzhen, who had originally planned to transform into the Child-Giving Bodhisattva and, together with his master Jingchen, contribute a little love to the human world, instantly abandoned such thoughts the moment he discovered that the Black Bear of the Profound Rank, restrained by the Golden Circlet, had died within the Purple Crystal Dragon Ore Mine.

He found an excuse to dismiss the group of female worshippers that had gathered around him and followed his master back into the temple.

Jingchen looked at Wuzhen, his brows slightly furrowed:

“Why did that Black Bear suddenly die? And in the Purple Crystal Dragon Ore Mine at that?”

Wuzhen’s face also showed puzzlement:

“That Black Bear, though seen by outsiders as having been subdued by me into the Buddhist sect, was in truth extremely powerful. Without the Golden Circlet’s aid, I had no confidence in bringing it down.”

“And it had already tried several times to escape, only for me to drag it back each time. It was precisely because of this that I learned of the Purple Crystal Dragon Ore Mine’s location.”

“Its strength was considerable, its temperament steady. There should be no one nearby capable of killing it so easily.”

Jingchen pondered for a moment before shaking his head:

“No, Wuzhen, there is one possibility that could have slain the Black Bear with certainty.”

At these words, Wuzhen’s gleaming bald head tilted:

“Master, are you saying… the Mountain Lord?”

Jingchen nodded:

“That’s right.”

Wuzhen’s usually calm expression faltered slightly:

“Indeed, the Mountain Lord has dominated within a thousand li for countless years, immersed in the Earth Rank for so long, he truly has the ability to kill the Black Bear.”

“The Golden Circlet was located in the Purple Crystal Dragon Ore Mine, which means the Black Bear died within the mine itself.”

“Could it be that the Black Bear, for some reason, entered the mine, only to be discovered stealing the Mountain Lord’s Purple Crystal Dragon Ore, and was thus killed in fury?”

Wuzhen paced within the temple:

“No, there is another possibility.”

“That Black Bear was extremely cunning. Perhaps, having failed again and again to escape from my grasp, and seeing that I had even allied with Master to seize the Purple Crystal Dragon Ore, it abandoned the idea of stealing more ore altogether.”

“Instead, it might have gone to inform the Mountain Lord of our dealings.”

“Trying to provoke conflict between us and the Mountain Lord, while it slipped away unnoticed.”

“Perhaps it made some mistake in its scheming—or perhaps the Mountain Lord’s violent and unpredictable nature led him to kill the Black Bear.”

It had to be said, without knowing that Mo Lin had already broken through to the Earth Rank and become the second Earth Demon in the area, Wuzhen’s guesses were actually rather close to the truth.

After Wuzhen had left, the Black Bear had indeed been planning to abandon its lair, lure the Mountain Lord into clashing with Wuzhen and Jingchen, while it watched the tigers fight from the mountain.

But before it died at Mo Lin’s hands, the Black Bear had a secret it never revealed to Mo Lin, and certainly not to Wuzhen.

That was, it had actually managed to learn the Mountain Lord’s whereabouts and had already taken certain steps.

What it never expected was that Mo Lin’s sudden appearance would shatter its schemes, rendering all its plotting worthless.

Thus, from the perspective of plans and intentions, Wuzhen’s conjecture was not far off at all.

Wuzhen’s expression grew grim:

If things were truly as their master-disciple pair suspected, then the worst case would be that the Mountain Lord already knew of their existence, their schemes, their covetous ambition!

Their advantage of lurking in the shadows would be utterly gone.

In fact, if not for the Golden Circlet transmitting news of the Black Bear’s death to Wuzhen, then the one truly hiding in the dark right now might very well be that mountain overlord himself!

With this realization, Jingchen and Wuzhen exchanged a glance and decided instantly:

They would head for the Purple Crystal Dragon Ore Mine!

They could not allow the Mountain Lord to remain hidden. Since there was a great chance they had already been exposed, better to confront the Mountain Lord head-on.

After all, Jingchen was a lower Earth Rank monk, Wuzhen was an upper Profound Rank cultivator, and with the Earth Rank treasure Golden Circlet, they absolutely had the ability to fight the Mountain Lord.

But if they allowed the Mountain Lord to seize the Golden Circlet lost with the Black Bear, then they would truly fall into disadvantage!

Thus, while urging the Golden Circlet to fly back to him at top speed, Wuzhen and Jingchen also rushed quickly toward the Purple Crystal Dragon Ore Mine.

……

Meanwhile, Mo Lin had no idea that by killing the Black Bear, he had been mistakenly judged by Jingchen and Wuzhen to be the Mountain Lord. He was currently battling against two constables.

More precisely, Mo Lin was trying to chase after the Golden Circlet while shaking off the constables’ pursuit, but the young man and woman had no intention of letting him escape.

It had to be said, the combined sword-and-blade technique of Su Bing and Lin Shuang was causing Mo Lin some trouble.

The soft sword moved like a silver snake darting from its hole, the long blade like quicksilver pouring out; the sharp aura from their weapons crashed down upon Mo Lin.

The sword energy and blade energy crossed in an “X” toward Mo Lin, as if intending to cut his long body in two.

“Hmph!”

Mo Lin let out a cold snort.

After a round of entanglement with the two constables, he had gradually discerned their combat style.

Their blended sword-and-blade technique was indeed ingenious, unrivalled in attack power within the Profound Rank, enough even to contend against Earth Rank experts. Whoever devised this method was surely a great master.

If he allowed them to keep pressing the assault, even Mo Lin’s body could not withstand many strikes.

But their tactic had one glaring, extreme flaw—they only attacked, never defended!

Whether it was Su Bing’s bold, sweeping strikes or Lin Shuang’s soft, flowing blade, all of it was aimed at harming their enemy, with hardly any regard for protecting themselves.

When facing an opponent stronger than them, this flaw could easily be seized upon—leading to their complete defeat—

Just like now, against Mo Lin, who had fought his way to the lower Earth Rank through countless battles.

Mo Lin had long realized this technique’s prerequisite: the two had to be deeply bound, valuing each other’s lives even above their own. Only then could they act without distraction.

But what was strongest in a person was often also their greatest weakness.

Their deep bond allowed them to unleash a power greater than the sum of its parts, yet it also made them overly concerned for each other’s safety.

Seizing on this, Mo Lin struck decisively—feinting toward one while secretly attacking the other.

Su Bing and Lin Shuang instantly grew flustered, each crying out for the other:

“Junior Sister, be careful!”

“Senior Brother!”

In that moment, the two constables were thrown into disarray, unable to guard both sides at once.

“Now!”

Mo Lin seized the opening, whipping his tail against Lin Shuang’s soft sword, sending it flying. Then he clashed against Su Bing’s weakened blade, shattering his long knife into fragments that scattered like flowers!

The two young constables spat blood, their faces pale as they stared at Mo Lin.

Just then, Mo Lin’s expression changed.

He suddenly sensed two powerful forces approaching from afar.

One of them was not weaker than himself—in fact, in depth and lingering force, it even surpassed him.

“Could it be?”